Reborn
by Samanthabaker
Summary: Enter 17 year old Caroline Winter, or Cara for short. Life has never exactly been a walk in the park for her but everything she knows is about to completly change. Mostly because, well Cara? She's dead. Full summery inside!   Please RxR, very important!


Enter 17 year old Caroline Salvator or Cara for short. Life has never exactly been a walk in the park for her but everything she knows is about to completely change…mostly because, well Cara? She's dead. A tragic and seemingly thoughtless cold blooded murder actually turns out to be a bloody battle between Heaven and Hell itself. To make matters worse? Cara wasn't actually the target, her best friend Zoë Daemon was. But this is what happens when you put yourself between a bullet and the person who was supposed to die. Now upon awakening in Heaven's morgue Caroline discovers things about herself that she'd never thought possible as she is finally _Reborn_.

It's a funny thing. Dying is; because you're terrified when you see it coming, especially if it isn't meant for you. Your over run with fear, it drags you down, you choke on it. I knew it was coming, I watched him slowly raise that god dammed pistol and aim it at her chest.

The breath caught in my throat, why oh why had I suggested it? Taking a short cut through the park had been a stupid idea, she hadn't even _wanted_ to. She was scared but I teased her into coming with me, oh god Zoë I'm so sorry!

When we'd passed through the alley we'd met a chain linked fence and I could tell she was relieved, but it didn't faze me. A chain link fence, so what? I'd hopped lots of those in my day.

I wince, in my day. That's right all this would be considered in my days; of living. Why? Oh yeah, because I'm dead.

But like I'd been saying before, Zoë had almost had a heart attack when I put the toe of my black stiletto boot into a chink of that stupid fence.

"Cara! Just what the hell do you think your doing?" Zoë hissed. I turned around and blinked, her blonde hair glowed like a halo of light in the dimness of the alley.

"Jumping it," I snorted. "Duh." My left hand clenched the fence and I hung halfway off of it as I narrowed my eyes teasingly.

"What? Don't tell me you're afraid of climbing a fence!" I smiled innocently. "Worried you might break a nail?" Zoë snorted and tossed her hair behind her shoulder.

"Please, as if." She said scornfully.

Normally Zoë was not the one to be bitchy but she was pissed at me for making her walk through the park at one in the morning. Sighing I let go of the fence and walked towards her at the mouth of the alley.

"Look." I said feeling tired. "I'm sorry, but this is the fastest way home, okay? I just want to crawl into my bed and sleep for the next ten years. That party was brutal."

Zoë smiled despite herself.

"Yeah," She agreed obviously reliving one of the many delicious moments. "Your right, but Im still pissed at you for this." She paused and her face paled.

"You know how I feel about going through Central Park at night." I felt a sharp twinge of guilt but kept a straight face thankful of the shadow cast across my features.

"I'm sorry." I said meaning it, then I made my tone reassuring. "But it's even too late for the crazies to be out." She raised a perfect eyebrow and laughed.

"Yeah, except you!" She burst out laughing. I frowned and pursed my lips.

"I," I mumbled. "Am not a crazy, I don't go around killing people for no good reason." Opps. Wrong thing to say Zoë's face went bone pale her mouth frozen in mid-laugh.

"Sorry Zo," I said back tracking quickly. "I didn't mean it, look lets just go home okay?" She peered wearily at the fence then back to me. And I wondered briefly if she was going to put her foot down and say no.

I wish she had.

"Okay." She agreed. "But you're buying me a Chocolate Shake at the Shack tomorrow." I laughed, and smiled.

"Okay, fatty!"

"Hey! I am not fat!"

"Yeah right," I said jokingly "Just like I'm not a Crazy?"

"Right."

The rest after that is a blur, at least until those last painful minuets; I don't even remember why he'd pointed the gun at her. All I remember was that he had, and that I'd stopped him.

Well, sort of. We'd almost made it to the road on the other side of the park when it happened. So close but not close enough. I guess almost just isn't good enough when it comes to life and death.

I'd been terrified when I saw him pull the pistol out from the folds of his jacket where he'd kept it concealed. I'd watched him pull back the safety until it clicked twice, meaning it was ready to shoot; to take an innocent's life away from them.

The next thing I knew I was flying, furry raging through me making my skin feel hot and prickly. However the weirdest part is that now that I think about it…I remember all of what happened after that. Truth be told, nothing is fuzzy.

In fact it's so clear it almost hurts, like shards of glass poking me in the brain. Ouch. I'd heard the gun go off, heard the bullet scream through the air, and felt it piercing my skin. Felt it killing me.

I remember Zoë's scream and the man cussing. But after that nothing. Blank. Nada. Zilch. Zero. All I could think about was how my body suddenly felt too heavy for me. Even when I sank down to the grass now colored scarlet with _my_ blood.

My brain buzzed, trying to work against the fog that was filling it. Everything seemed so impossible. I absolutely couldn't move, breathing was hard and even blinking seemed out of reach at that point. Ah, it still hurts to try and remember.

Wait, I do remember something after that! As I strained to keep opening my eyes after each blink Zoë had moved to crouch in front of me. Her face tear streaked as she screamed, her mouth was moving but the sounds were slurred together, meaningless. Except that they weren't. Stubborn I made myself listen, focus on turning the noises into words.

"Caroline!" Zoë half screamed, half sobbed. "Listen to me! Please you have to keep your eyes open, keep breathing!"

I wanted to nod but I couldn't, what was wrong with me? Breath, right she wanted me to breathe. But I couldn't find my lungs; they were lost somewhere inside of my body. Where were they again? I couldn't feel anything and at the same time I could feel everything. Panic sliced through the fog and bubbled up in my throat, a choked gurgle slid through my lips.

More panic. Zoë sobbed and pulled me awkwardly into her lap and hugged me tight. Little dark spots swarmed in my vision and far away I heard the sound of sirens. Loud, piercing my ears. My eyes slid closed, I couldn't help it anymore. I didn't want to see her crying, see the blood.

But nothing could stop me from feeling her crying, I could still hear her and I could still smell the blood. Zoë sobbed, each jagged cry tore at my heart. How could I do this to my best friend? I opened my mouth, my final act.

"Zoë," I struggled. "You're my best friend"

I forced my eyes open; tears slid down my face making my black hair turn the color of ink. Zoey stared at me fear and hope mingled together in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry..." I whispered urgently. "That I'm leaving you on your own." She let out a strangled noise.

"Shh, sweetheart its okay," I hushed her as her head fell into my chest. "You have to promise me one thing though" She sniffed. "You have to keep living just like you always have, live for the both of us."

Her watery eyes peered up into mine and widened fearfully. I gave her my best smile but she gave nothing in return. For a moment it looked like something had snapped inside her eyes. Frightened I opened my mouth but a breath taking pain wracked my body and I felt my eyes roll back into my head.

My head fell back and my eyes closed. For a single terrifying moment it was like all I could heard was my heart go _glug, glug, glug_ then stutter and go quiet. Fog filled my brain and I felt the sensation of being under a lot of pressure, like sinking to the bottom of a deep pool. Except here it's dark, muddy. So maybe a lake. I heard Zoë scream as she shook me.

"NO, NO, NO!" She screamed, sobbing. "DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME HERE!" More sobbing.

"Please." She whispered, the sound was utterly broken, filled to the brim with unimaginable pain. Shattering with it, it was enough to make me want to scream, to claw my way back to her. Except I couldn't, and I still can't get back to her.

I couldn't do anything the fog was so thick. I felt myself being dragged farther and farther away from her. The noises slowly fading. Her sobbing got quieter and quieter, then eventually faded to nothing. I was completely and utterly alone.

Now here I am reliving it, wait. I pause.

_This makes no god damn sense, I'm dead right? I did die didn't I?_

Maybe I'm the living dead, hah maybe I'm in Hell!

Suddenly, I can feel _everything_, my body has come back to me and…I'm too terrified to open my eyes. Not because I'm afraid that I'm in Hell (for some reason I was almost positive I was) but more because I was afraid that I'd open my eyes and be six feet under. Wouldn't that just be a joy; to wake up from being dead and have to claw your way out of the grave; with no where to go and no one to go to?

But I had to, that much I was positive of. I needed to open my eyes and find out what the hell is going on, who knew. Maybe the dead could think? But would it really feel this much like being alive?

I opened my eyes before I could change my mind and…I'm amazed. I'm staring at the stars, but not like the stars you saw back on earth, no these stars were sitting in the clearest sky you could ever imagine.


End file.
